For untold years, the perfectly preserved mummy had lain forgotten in the dusty basement of Boston’s Crispin Museum. Dubbed “Madam X,” the recently rediscovered mummy is, to all appearances, an ancient Egyptian artifact. But medical examiner Maura Isles discovers a macabre message hidden within the corpse – horrifying proof that this “centuries-old” relic is instead a modern-day murder victim. When the grisly remains of two other women are found, it becomes clear to Maura and Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli that a maniac is at large. Now Maura and Jane must unravel a murderer’s twisted endgame before the Archaeology Killer adds another chilling artifact to his monstrous collection.

Gerritsen’s writing was, as usual, mostly neat and to the point. While she occasionally gets into more description than is necessary, she’s generally pretty good at being economical with the prose and keeping things down to the basics. I appreciate that in a crime/mystery novel. If I wanted something less utilitarian, I’d pick up a piece of literary fiction.

This addition to the series was a bit of a creative leap, I think. The story was fast-paced and interesting, but definitely a big leap away from the realistic. And yet, maybe that’s the point – truth is supposed to be stranger than fiction, right? Who am I to judge whether someone would be messed up enough to really commit crimes like this?